“Review chapter one for the upcoming quiz,” our professor told us—and review, I did. I scoured pages of graphic design information, highlighting important-looking definitions and committing them all to memory. When I closed the book, I felt good about my preparations.
…I felt good, that is, until the quiz was before me. Then, my heart sank. You see, the quiz didn’t actually ask about the definitions I’d thought were so important. Instead, it covered practical details, like the keyboard shortcuts I’d merely glossed over.
I had focused on the wrong things.
I had missed the point.
In a way, this reminds me of Peter’s reaction to the transfiguration in Matthew 17.
After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was changed before them, His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
(Matthew 17:1-4, WEBBE)
You might say Peter’s focus was divided by seeing Elijah and Moses there. He seemed to think they deserved reverence equal with Jesus’. Or you might say Peter was focused on what he could do for Jesus, rather than what Jesus was in the process of doing for him.
But either way, Peter’s response is relatable, isn’t it? So often, we zero in on our human plans and overlook what God is doing. And even more often, our focus is divided and routed away from what matters most.
Yet, the transfiguration account redirects us—along with Peter—to the One worthy of our full, undivided attention: Jesus Christ. And in the rest of the account, we find two good reasons for focusing on the Savior:
Jesus reveals His glory to those who believe in Him, no matter how imperfect their faith.
By inviting them to the transfiguration, Jesus was giving these three disciples a special glimpse of his glory. Though Scripture tells us that Jesus’ human form wasn’t particularly impressive to look at, the shining picture we see of Him here is a sneak peek of the exalted, victorious Jesus in Revelation 1. He is glorious. All of His goodness, holiness and power radiate like the brightest of lights, and for just a moment, Peter, James and John were allowed to see the Savior as He truly was.
It’s pretty remarkable. Even though Jesus knew they wouldn’t fully understand what was happening, or what it all meant, He revealed Himself to the disciples.
Doesn’t this encourage you? Despite the smallness, and sometimes wobbliness, of our faith, Jesus wants us to know Him. And He reveals Himself, even today. No, He doesn’t always do it dramatically, on mountaintops, like He does here. But even on our most ordinary days, He peels back the curtain of our circumstances enough to let us see the glory of who He is: kind, just, merciful, accessible… Oh, that we would notice every glimmer.
Yet, even for those of us who sometimes focus on the wrong things and miss the point, there is hope and help. Look at what happens next:
“While he [Peter] was still speaking behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. “
When Peter was missing the point, God interrupted and redirected his focus back where it belonged—to Jesus and Jesus alone.
In our distracted lives, this passage reminds us: Jesus is the One worthy of our full attention. In every circumstance and in all company, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Him. And though a million voices may swirl around us, His is the one we are to listen to. If we’ll do this, we will see glimpses of glory. Jesus is still in the business of revealing His goodness to those who believe in Him.
Yet, this passage also reminds us that when, like Peter, we find ourselves focusing on the wrong things, all is not lost. God can interrupt and refocus us in a second. He can still get us where we need to be—on our faces, in awe before Him. And when we’re thoroughly convinced of His worthiness and our unworthiness, we can trust Jesus to reach out with compassion—because that is why He came. He is the Son of God, sent to remedy our unworthiness.
Jesus reveals hidden truths to those who seek Him with their questions.
In Matthew 17:9-13, the story continues: “As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them. Saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognise him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptiser.”
After glimpsing Moses, Elijah and the glory of Jesus, his disciples had questions. They had questions about Messianic prophecies and the timeline of Messianic events. Perhaps they were wondering, “If Elijah was supposed to appear before the Messiah, what does that mean for Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah? After all, Elijah just now appeared and Jesus has been around a while. Were the teachers wrong about the order of things? or…?”
The disciples weren’t able to figure it all out. But because they took their questions to Jesus and then listened to His words in response, their questions didn’t have a chance to turn into doubts. Jesus answered them. Even though the disciples didn’t understand everything just yet, Jesus gave them enough understanding for them to move forward in faith.
This is important for us to remember. When our questions go unasked and the word of God goes unread, doubt can fester and get us off track. But when we seek Jesus with our questions, our faith and understanding can actually grow.
No, we may not get to understand everything we’d like to understand. But He will give us enough understanding to move us forward in faith. And often, His answer to our questions is a simple confirmation of who He is.
Jesus is who He says He is, despite the details in our lives that would have us believe otherwise.
When we bring our questions to Jesus, we find that they don’t diminish His glory one bit. They are yet another opportunity to see Him shine.
His glory is the point we never want to miss.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my 2025 reading plan: “A Year in the Gospels” To receive a copy of the reading plan (and future reading plans), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along! You can also learn more about my Scripture over Screentime experiment here.
Written by Paige K. Burhans
©2024 Paige K. Burhans
Scriptures taken from the World English Bible British Edition. Public Domain.
